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Dan Tucker

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The Cambridge Canadian Studies Initiative (CCSI) was founded in 2004, creating a new focal point for Canadian Studies at the University of Cambridge.
The CCSI was widely welcomed as reestablishing an institutional presence for Canadian Studies at Cambri
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Dr Dan Tucker, a lecturer in pig health at the University of Cambridge-"Global pig diseases don't respect borders and we need strict international trade regulations."

The fact that 50 percent of the world's pig population are in non-intensive production systems, poses a potential threat to global pig health-new investment is needed to modernize the industry and reduce disease risks.
That was the message of pig health expert, Dr Dan Tucker, who delivered the Tom Alexander Memorial Lecture at the 22nd International Pig Veterinary Society in Jeju, Korea, in June.

Preventing pig disease

Calling for international cooperation and communication to help pig producers make the necessary changes and increase surveillance, Dr Tucker, a lecturer in pig health at the University of Cambridge in the UK, also urged governments to help local pig farmers invest in what could be "quite expensive" alterations to improve production and produce healthy pigs.

"There are some 900 million pigs in the world, with about 50 percent produced under intensive production systems," said Dr Tucker.
"But the other half are in non-intensive systems, such as backyard pig farms, particularly in developing countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and parts of China and they need time to change."

The problem is that while intensive systems include regular up-to-date disease and pathogen monitoring, there is little or no monitoring in the non-intensive systems, which can lead to a high risk of new diseases emerging, he explained.

"Moreover, these non-intensive production pigs have a greater chance of contact with wild animals and other domesticated species and catching some new disease, or pathogen from them," said Dr Tucker.
"If these new pathogens mutate in the pig, they could jump from pigs in the non-intensive systems to others in intensive systems."

This is important because he said he believes that more focus on pig health can help producers improve productivity and meat safety, as well as provide better pig welfare on farms.

Biosecurity measures

"To control and prevent disease, everything has to be based on evidence, which has to come from surveillance," Dr Tucker explained.
"If people can't keep a proper watch over half of the world's pig population, they have to be prepared for some surprises.

"That's why I see the fact that 50 percent of our pigs are still in non-intensive systems is a major potential threat to global pig health," he said.

"Global organizations such as FAO and WHO could help build technical partnerships to facilitate change by helping developed countries transfer knowledge and expertise in endemic diseases, diagnostic testing, sample collection and surveillance to reduce the health risks," says Dr Tucker.
"They could also become important sources of funding to promote collaboration between nations."

Some researchers had already started to identify the differences between disease-related strains of streptococcus suis and non-disease-related colonised strains, translating to new diagnostic tools and methods to track bacteria as they moved from the sow to the piglet and through to the finishing stages, Dr Tucker said.

"This technique could help us discover at what stage of life pigs are most susceptible to infections, which would help us set up better control programs and design new methods to help make the industry less reliant on antibiotics," he said.

The finalists were chosen by a judging panel comprising chairman Richard Longthorp, pig industry training supremo, Gerry Brent, industry consultant and founder of the industry's accredited Certificates of Competence, and Dr Dan Tucker, senior lecturer at the University of Cambridge school of Veterinary Medicine.

Richard Longthorp's fellow judges were pig industry consultant Gerry Brent, and Dan Tucker, lecturer in pig medicine and veterinary public health at the University of Cambridge.

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Dan Tucker, of University of Cambridge, said, 'This was my first opportunity to meet those who are undertaking training in the pig sector and what a pleasure and honour it was to meet so many enthusiastic and informed people.

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The panel of judges consisted of producer Richard Longthorp, (chairman), industry consultant Gerry Brent and Dan Tucker, lecturer in pig medicine and veterinary public health at the University of Cambridge.

Richard Longthorp's fellow judges were pig industry consultant Gerry Brent, and Dan Tucker, lecturer in pig medicine and veterinary public health at the University of Cambridge.

...

Dan Tucker, of University of Cambridge, said, "This was my first opportunity to meet those who are undertaking training in the pig sector and what a pleasure and honour it was to meet so many enthusiastic and informed people.

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I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand that I will receive a subscription to ZoomInfo Community Edition at no charge in exchange for downloading and installing the ZoomInfo Contact Contributor utility which, among other features, involves sharing my business contacts as well as headers and signature blocks from emails that I receive.